LEVERAGE HK'S TECH STRENGTHS

I believe everyone here agrees that Hong Kong is a place full of treasures and is one of the ideal places for business in the world. With the unique advantage of being backed by our motherland and closely connected with the world, Hong Kong served as the best springboard for enterprises to enter the Mainland market and also to the whole world. With the staunch support from our motherland and solid commitment from the Government, we are at full speed to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre, and on this amazing journey there will be plenty of golden investment opportunities.

Thanks to the National 14th Five-Year Plan and the national strategy of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) development, Hong Kong is leveraging on our unique advantages under “one country, two systems”. For the first time the plan also includes the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Loop as a major platform of co-operation in the GBA, fostering further deepening of the co-operation between Hong Kong and Mainland in the I&T sector. According to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)'s 2022 Global Innovation Index released last month, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster ranks second amongst the global top 100 science and technology clusters, thus testifying to the power of collaboration. The potential of this cluster is enormous. With Hong Kong as the gateway, I&T companies and startups around the world will be able to tap into the GBA market and other cities of the giant Mainland market.

In fact, this term of Government has set a clear direction to drive the I&T development of Hong Kong by perfecting the I&T ecosystem and better co-ordinating the upstream, midstream and downstream development. On the upstream side, we need to intensify our efforts to support Hong Kong's basic innovation, so as to further strengthen the capabilities of local universities in basic scientific research. In the midstream, we need to encourage universities to proactively promote the commercialisation of R&D (research and development) outcomes. And for the downstream, we need to formulate clear industry facilitation policies to support the development of the targeted I&T industries, nurture local technology companies and attract overseas enterprises to set foot in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, we need to make use of I&T to speed up the transformation of traditional industries to higher value-added production, so as to accelerate the progress of re-industrialisation and inject impetus into Hong Kong's economy. To implement the above strategy, capital, talent, technology and infrastructure are all crucial.

I am glad to learn that quite a number of today's concurrent sessions are related to life and health sciences, which is one of the key areas that Hong Kong enjoys clear advantages. As a matter of fact, Hong Kong is currently Asia's largest and the world's second largest fund-raising hub for biotechnology companies. As at end August 2022, 51 pre-revenue or pre-profit biotechnology companies have listed in Hong Kong, with the relevant funds raised through initial public offering amounting to over $114 billion. Besides, Hong Kong has many world-renowned talents in the life and health disciplines as well as a solid foundation in research that allow health tech-related startups to grow and bloom.

To leverage Hong Kong's strengths in life and health sciences, InnoHK is established in the Hong Kong Science Park as the Government's flagship I&T initiative comprising 28 world-class research centres which serve as an excellent platform for local and international experts to share their research outcomes and collaborate with each other. Furthermore, we will set up an InnoLife Healthtech Hub in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation & Technology Park with an aim of attracting new talent as well as new capital from overseas to develop Hong Kong into a major R&D hub in the life and health disciplines.

The above highlight on life and health sciences is just an example to demonstrate the Government's effort in developing I&T. We are at the same time stimulating the development of other I&T-related industries, including AI (artificial intelligence) and robotics, smart city innovation, microelectronics, to name but a few. Our I&T ecosystem is becoming increasingly vibrant. The number of startups has substantially increased over the past few years, during which we have witnessed the birth of more than a dozen unicorns. Venture capital investment in Hong Kong also substantially increased to around $41.7 billion in 2021. Our people are also very competitive. For instance, Hong Kong was ranked first worldwide in terms of readiness in the World Talent Ranking 2021. Our performance in the sub-indices, graduates in science and international experience, was first and fourth in the world respectively. It is in no doubt that Hong Kong is full of opportunities for overseas investment and top talent from around the globe.

Ladies and gentlemen, the I&T development in Hong Kong has made unprecedented strides in recent years. The Chief Executive will deliver his maiden Policy Address tomorrow. A series of new initiatives, in particular on measures to perfect the I&T ecosystem as well as attract talent, will be highlighted. I trust that the new initiatives will lead Hong Kong's I&T development to move faster and further ahead. I look forward to joining hands with you all to seize the golden opportunities at a time when I&T is a key driver of economic growth in our city. Let's explore more treasures we have in Hong Kong.

Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong gave these remarks at the Innovation & Technology Day of Investment Promotion Week on October 18.

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